Online
Businesses at Risk

How Nigerian
Con Artists
Are Using the
Relay Telephone System for the Deaf
to Defraud Online Sellers

by
"Operator Here"

This report adds to the information shared
earlier by "Clear Conscience." "Operator Here" is a former IP operator who is doing everything possible to bring
media attention
to this problem--one that is not only causing harm to deaf individuals, but great
financial loss to thousands of businesses and other individuals on the Web.

I just found your 2005 article on the abuse of IP Relay, and the plight
of the operators. In that article, you had "Clear Conscience" talk about
what the operators are going through. He's a good friend of mine, and
he's part of the "network" of operators
that have banded together at our
website.

I was a relay operator for over a year, and I saw all these things first
hand, every single day. I had to quit my job because I couldn't justify
doing the job to myself anymore. I felt like a criminal when I left work
every day. So I've turned the tables for myself. I now work
confidentially with the victims of these scams. Thanks to a network of
current operators who provide information to me on people who are
would-be victims, I am now using my own time and energy to help the
people who have already fallen victim to these horrible scammers, or
people who are about to become victims. I work very hard to try to stop
these scammers every time I find them. I get at least one new victim
every single day of the week.

I've been sending the following information to all media outlets in the
hopes of getting the problem recognized in the media, but I have not
been too successful. Last November, a story about this appeared on NBC
Nightly News. Later, the Today Show carried a similar story, and I was
one of the operators interviewed for those stories. The reason I did
those interviews was to inform the public of the alarming problem of
Nigerian fraud using the IP Relay system for the deaf. Nigerians have
literally hijacked the relay telephone system for the deaf to defraud
American businesses, individuals who are selling things online, and
people who are just looking for love.

How the Scam Works

The IP Relay is a service intended for those who are deaf, hard of
hearing, or speech-disabled. They go to a website such as
IP-Relay.com
and connect to an operator who then becomes a "human telephone wire" for
the remainder of the phone conversation.* The deaf/HOH/SD person types a
message, the operator relays it to the hearing person, and then the
operator types back the response by the hearing person for the deaf
person to read. There are no long-distance fees involved for either
party on the line; all they need is an Internet connection, and the
phone services are at their disposal. The key to Relay for the deaf is
being able to use the phone just like a hearing person would, with
complete anonymity. This is called "functional equivalence" for the deaf
by the FCC and The Americans with Disabilities Act.

The way the IP Relay system is set up at this time, anyone can connect
to IP Relay from anywhere in the world as long as they have an Internet
connection. Since the inception of IP Relay, Nigerian scammers have been
hard at work using this service to defraud all types of people and
businesses by pretending to be deaf. One big reason why this is popular
with the scammers is that it allows them to make international calls for
free, and gives them the benefit of having an American voice to speak
for them.

The deaf are entitled to the same services that hearing people are.
While these scams are not new, the scammers are finding new ways of
contacting their victims, and we, as operators, are stuck in the middle
in a moral and ethical-vs-legal dilemma: Do we do what is morally and
ethically right and warn the victims, or do we "just do our job,"
ignoring our conscience, but staying on the "legal" side? Contacting
victims is completely unlawful. But I do it anyway. It's my way of
making up for being forced to help Nigerians scam people out of their
money. I help victims because of the stories I hear all the time from
all the people who went bankrupt, had loved ones commit suicide, or lost
everything they have. People have even been arrested for cashing phony
checks that they had NO IDEA were fake!

*November 2014
Update: Due to FCC action, the IP-Relay site above was forced to cease
providing telephone relay services. Sprint is now the only remaining
provider, according to a notice on the website I previously linked to.

The Reshipping Scam

Here's how the “typical” fraud call works. The scammer will call
businesses, and people with advertisements in online newspapers or other
websites like Ebay, or Craiglist. When they call a business, they order
huge quantities of merchandise over the phone, and use fraudulently
obtained or illegally manufactured credit card numbers to pay for these
purchases. The critical part of the scam is needing an address for their
packages to be shipped inside the U.S.

The way they find these U.S. addresses is an entirely different scam
altogether. They may have people inside the U.S. who are either
voluntarily helping them with full knowledge of the scam by "reshipping"
the merchandise to Nigeria in exchange for keeping some of the stolen
goods. Or the Nigerian will use websites such as Careerbuilder.com and
Monster.com, and put Help Wanted ads for "Reshippers." The people who
respond to these ads believe this to be a legitimate part-time job for
some obscure company. The company will always have a legitimate-looking
website, and everything looks above-board. The job doesn't last long
because, for the most part, the person doing the reshipping is paid with
a fake cashiers check. Initially, it clears the bank, but eventually the
bank finds out that it's fraudulent, and the person is out that money
and oftentimes will have to repay the money to their bank. If they
cannot repay the money, there have been incidents where the reshipper
has been arrested.

Editor's note: This reshipping scam is affecting many people who are
looking for part-time employment at home, and it's easy to be conned.
Educate yourself by reading this
Scam Alert by Amy C. Fleitas at
Bankrate.com.

Scammers on Dating Websites

Sometimes the con artists meet people on dating websites and con them
into believing that they would be helping them get things they need for
their family if they will "reship" certain merchandise for them. This
particular aspect of the scam is a HUGE problem. The Nigerian cons are
breaking people’s hearts and trust in order to further their illegal
activities. Because they are so convincing at making people believe that
they love them, they have their victims in the palm of their hand. The
victims will do just about anything to help the con artist and his
"family." The outlandish stories they make up would seem very incredible
to most people, but once they get a victim lured in, and the victim
thinks they're in love, they will believe these truly amazing stories.
They rarely have any idea that the Nigerian is working with a network of
people, and their photo online is never really them, and often, the
victim is corresponding with several scammers pretending to be the same
person.

When Businesses Bite

With the businesses or individual sellers who become victims, once the
"purchase" has been made, sometimes after using several credit card
numbers until one finally goes through, the retailer or private party
sends out the package very quickly, just as the Nigerian demands.
Several days later, the person who shipped the package will be notified
by the credit card company that it was a stolen credit card. Or they are
notified by the bank that the cashier’s check is phony. The shipper is
then out the merchandise and the money.

Example:
As I was writing this article, I was assisting a young female
business owner in stopping a Nigerian from scamming her. I caught her
just in time, as the merchandise was just getting ready to ship. This
con artist was trying to buy floor tiles and have them shipped to Ghana.
The total amount of tiles they wanted to buy came to over $10,000.
Thankfully, I was able to help them save their money, which would have
bankrupted this small business. At the same time, the scammer was giving
the business three credit cards at a time. The scammer wanted to split
the 10 grand between three different cards. In an effort to get all the
cards he had available to him, we kept telling the scammer that the
cards kept coming back declined ... and the scammer kept providing
stolen credit card numbers! When it was all over, the scammer had
provided nine credit card numbers. I took each card number, called
Master card to get the phone number for the issuing banks, and then
called each of the banks to inform them of the situation. Each card was
flagged, and the money available was frozen until the bank could contact
the owner and make them aware that their account had been compromised.
In this particular instance, I was able to not only save this business
from losing $10,000, but I also helped save nine different credit card
holders from losing a whole lot of money. I also sent an anonymous tip
to the FBI regarding the situation and gave them all the pertinent info.

How the Deaf Are Being Deprived
of a Valuable Service

This problem has become so widespread that operators can, and often do,
spend up to 80 percent of their day making calls for Nigerians, while
legitimate users “sit in queue" waiting for an operator who is tied up
with a Nigerian who is making call after call scamming businesses. Those
poor people sit and wait, and I always worry ... What if they were in an
emergency situation and needed to call 911? What if they were with a
loved one having a heart attack, or some other emergency? How scary is
that?

Here is another important key to the scammer’s success: The operators
have no option but to allow the call to go through due to the mandates
set out by the FCC and the Americans With Disabilities Act. The FCC has
been very clear on the issue. The operator cannot make any judgment
about the legitimacy/legality of any call for any reason. In short, the
operators have to put any call through, no matter what. The end result
here is that the Nigerian fraud has caused many, many businesses to stop
accepting relay calls altogether. Some deaf people now have a very hard
time purchasing things over the phone. This problem needs exposure! The
operators’ hands are tied because warning a victim, or somehow
attempting to stop the fraud during the call will result in immediate
termination and the threat of being sued by the relay company. Because
operators can lose their jobs (at the very least) for warning a victim,
some former operators, like me, have taken things into their own hands,
at the risk of prosecution, to help these victims.

I am only speaking out, and putting myself at risk of going to jail
because the more people that hear of this, the fewer victims there will
be. I have asked Barbara to respect my privacy and keep my identity hidden. I
only want to help people, and it would be very detrimental to me and my
family if I went to jail or got sued for trying to stop these scammers.
I also need to protect the operator network system that we have. These
operators are integral to putting an end to these scammers, and I need
their help in order to help others.

There is so very little information out there for people who have been
scammed, and for people who might be next in line. I feel that it's
imperative that the general public learn about this problem. I can think
of no better way than to contact the media. I am available at any time
to tell my story as an operator. I also have several friends who are
current or former operators who would participate in any interviews. The
more people who are warned, and informed, the better. In trying to stop
these scams, we hope to save the relay system that was intended for the deaf
to be able to make phone calls, just like you or I can. They deserve to
have their phone system back.

I am currently in the process of getting the attention of senators
and the FCC, and working with a victims advocacy group called
Fraud Aid.
They are pushing lawmakers very hard to get this system changed. The
media option is only being used to put pressure on the FCC (who is very
aware of the problem) and the Relay companies to change how Relay is
used. The goal is to make sure it's available to those who rely on it,
and unavailable to those who abuse it.

As I’ve stated before, I must
keep my identify secret, but if you are interested in giving this
problem media coverage, you may communicate with me through Barbara
Brabec, who will forward your message on to me.